Reps decry Iraq for punishing lawmaker

September 19, 2008 9:00am

Three members of the U.S. House of Representatives scolded the Iraqi parliament for penalizing a lawmaker who visited Israel.

“We write with grave concern regarding recent reports that the Iraqi Parliament has voted to suspend legal immunity for your colleague Mr. Mithal Alusi and to forbid him from traveling outside of Iraq and attending parliamentary sessions because of his recent trip to Israel to participate in an international counterterrorism conference,” said the letter sent this week to Iraqi parliament speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani by U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.).

“It is shameful that a member of the legislature should be chastised for working to advance peace with other democratic nations in the region. We strongly urge you to reinstate Mr. Alusi’s legal immunity and to ease all restrictions that have been placed on him.”